A Misunderstanding
by XxPinkSkyxX2
Summary: (Modern AU) Two-Shot. When helping his younger brother, Hiccup, win Astrid's heart, Hunter realizes his brother's crush start to take interest on him instead. Hiccstrid. Hiccup x Astrid. COMPLETED
1. Part 1

**_Normal POV_**

"Are you going to finally ask her out or are you just going to sit down there looking like a lovesick puppy?" Hunter asked.

Hiccup managed to crash back into reality when he heard his older brother's voice. He blinked a few times to realize he's been staring at his crush, Astrid Hofferson - which he has been doing for the whole class period.

This was Hiccup's 5th block PE class. Today was Friday, and that meant it was for the students to dedicate their 60 minutes of their lives exercising or at least doing something productive that will make them sweat and exhausted. In Hiccup's case, he was slacking off and admiring Astrid Hofferson playing volleyball with her friends.

"Look, bro," Hunter sighed and sat down on the bleachers next to him, "If you have nothing to do other than staring at the _girl of your dreams_ , then come on and play football with me and your classmates." he pointed to the field next to the volleyball court.

Although this is a Junior's class, Hunter was only here because during this period was his Teacher's Academy class - where he helped out the PE teacher for the first time this semester.

"Nah, I don't feel like playing." Hiccup said, waving a hand to him.

"But you love playing football."

"Well not right now." Hiccup replied.

Hunter huffed in frustration at his younger brother's stubbornness. Sure yeah, as siblings they've been more than brothers to each other. The two were best friends and were really close. But right now, Hunter's been annoyed by the fact that Hiccup hadn't made a move to ask Astrid out.

Hiccup always thought she'd reject him because she was liked and known by many people, kind of making her popular. There are girls who had crushes on the auburn male, but none were as great as Astrid. It was only her that caught Hiccup's eye.

And then there's Hunter, who watches as Hiccup's love for her unravels and blossoms. In fact, he's had a crush on her ever since the start of Freshman year for him. Astrid was the new student that time, and coincidentally, Hiccup was assigned to show her around the school.

Back then, Hiccup was still the awkward, shy introvert that always stuttered and needed Hunter the whole time to guide him. However now, he's finally gained confidence and got out from his comfort zone that he's been hiding in. He also found himself growing more taller, almost passing 6 feet. Just a few more years and he'll probably be the same height as Hunter, or probably even taller.

"It's not really hard, you know." Hunter said. He jumped to his feet, "Just stand up, walk to her, ask if she's free tonight, and if she says yes-"

"It's not that easy, OK? Look at her! She's Astrid Hofferson, there's a low chance she's going to say yes to me." Hiccup exclaimed, hiding his face with both of his hands.

Hunter rolled his eyes, "You're just overreacting. There are dozens of girls that like you, what makes you think she won't be like one of them?" he asked.

"That's because she isn't." Hiccup pointed out, "Astrid is...Astrid. No one is like her. She's intelligent, hard working, invincible, beautiful...you don't see any girl like that everyday." he said, hunching his shoulders in misery. "I bet she doesn't even know I exist."

"You do know that you were the first one she talked to when she came here." Hunter retorted, proving his point that Hiccup was just being a little - maybe a lot - dramatic.

"Ugh," Hiccup looked up to glare at Hunter. The older brother shot him a mocking smirk, "You don't get it. She's not going to like me back!"

Hunter gave him an unamused look, "And what makes you think that?" he asked.

"She barely knows me, we don't talk to each other, there are a lot of guys that like her - thankfully she rejected them because they were kind of a bunch of jerks - I'm getting crowded with girls I don't even know - which Astrid is going think that I'm some sort of...dreamboat for girls and I won't have time for hee if we ever become friends, and the list goes on and on..." Hiccup said.

"Hiccup," Hunter sighed. He crossed his arms, "As your brother, I'm happy to help you with your...love life. You acting like a stalker to Astrid is getting old and creepy."

"I do not stalk Astrid." Hiccup glared at him.

"Well you're beginning to." Hunter said. Hiccup wanted to say something back, but he couldn't. "Exactly." he said. "Trust me, Hiccup, she'll love you! Come on, what girl wouldn't? You're just as intelligent as her, you both like to do sports, you love dragons, and so does she. Maybe if you'll introduce yourself to her, she can get to know you better and we both know where that can lead to."

Hiccup shrugged, "Yeah but still...you're not always right. A-and you giving me advice about this is becoming weird." he said. He turned his attention away from Hunter, looking back to Astrid. He saw her spike the ball to the opposing team, winning her own team a point.

Hunter clicked his tongue, "There's no getting into that oversized head of yours, is it?" he groaned.

"Nope."

Hunter stayed quiet first before coming up with a solution. "You know what?" he asked Hiccup. Hunter didn't give him time to respond. The younger auburn male yelped when Hunter grabbed his arm, yanking him up to stand. Now on his feet, Hunted walked forward, with Hiccup locked in his grip.

"Hunter?!" Hiccup asked in disbelief. "What are you doing?" he tried to pull his arm away but Hunter was stronger than him. A few students near saw them, curious on what was happening. To the students, Hiccup and Hunter were look-a-likes, except that Hunter's hair was more shorter, and his eyes are blue.

"Something I should have done a long time ago."

Hiccup panicked, "Wait...what are you going to do?"

"Getting you a date with Astrid."

His emerald green eyes widened, "What?!" Hiccup cried, "No..no, no, no, no, no!" he tried to walk the other direction, but Hunter didn't let go.

"Hiccup, don't make me drag you." Hunter said.

"You already are!"

"It's going to be quick, don't worry. It'll be a short talk." Hunter assured him.

"No! Stop!"

Hunter ignored him. This actually made him remember a time where it was time for Hiccup to go to the dentist for the first time. They were really young, and Hunter had to drag Hiccup by the leg to get him into the dentist's office.

Hiccup looked past Hunter's shoulder. His heart hammered in his chest when he saw they were approaching the volleyball court, a glimpse of familiar golden hair appearing in his view. No. He can't. Not like this. He didn't want Hunter to ask Astrid for him.

Nevertheless, he needed to find a way to escape Hunter's grasp. Remembering back then on how he managed to escape last time, an imaginary light bulb sparked over his head.

Hiccup looked down at Hunter's feet.

He hoped it will still work.

...

After kicking Hunter's shin as hard as he could, the auburn male pulled his arm away and sprinted towards the nearest restroom like an award winning athlete almost to a finish line. He felt bad about his actions since he and Hunter had made an oath not to commit any violence to each other since last time they did it almost ruined their brotherhood.

Hiccup slammed the restroom door shut, marching inside. He scanned the room for any students. There was none. Good.

The auburn male sighed, leaning his back on the outside stall door. He met his reflection, staring at himself for a while. What if he didn't do that? What if they made it to Astrid? Hunter would ask Astrid, and if she says yes, then Hiccup would be with her for a date.

Even though he'd be happy for that, he wanted it to be himself to ask Astrid. Not Hunter.

Hiccup just needed time that's it.

...

"AH!" Hunter screamed in pain when he felt Hiccup kick his shin. His hand let go of his brother to apply pressure on the kicked area to lessen the pain. Hearing running footsteps behind him, he snapped his head back to see Hiccup running away. "HICCUP! GET BACK HERE!" he yelled angrily.

He groaned, looking down at his leg.

Hiccup is so paying after this.

Meanwhile, Astrid spiked the volleyball heading her way. Heather, who was in the other team, lunged forward to hit it. Unfortunately for her she was too late, and missed it. Astrid's team cheered, jumping up in victory. They won again.

"Good game, Hofferson!" Heather shouted, standing up while brushing the dust from her shorts.

Astrid smiled at her best friend, "Good game!" Astrid shouted back.

The girls all began to sit down by the bench, drinking water and complementing each other on how great they were when playing volleyball. Astrid walked away to the group to collect the used ball that was at the edge of the court.

The blonde female bend down to pick it up. With the ball finally in her hands, Astrid turned to go back to the group. However, a distant cry of pain alerted her, making her look back behind.

Astrid held the wires of the wall fence surrounding the volleyball court, squinting her crystal blue eyes to see who yelled. There, she could see. It was a tall male with short auburn hair that was cut into a low fade. She's never seen him before, and he was certainly not from her class.

She then remembered he was a teacher aid to Coach David in PE Class. What was his name again? Hunter?

A short chuckle left her mouth when he was randomly jumping like someone hit his leg or something. Hunter stopped performing his jumps, whirling his head around to look for someone. All of a sudden, he and Astrid made eye contact. She expected him to carry on his way, but he didn't.

Hunter stood still, an awkward look on his face.

Astrid arched a brow, waving a hand to acknowledge him. The male from afar waved back at the same manner before turning around to march away. She saw him turn around, probably to look back at her. He did another awkward hi before scurrying out of sight.

OK, that was weird?

She pushed herself away from the fence and walked back to her friends.

That was the first time Astrid saw him.

And when I mean _him_ , I mean _Hunter_.

 _ **Next Day**_

"So Attempt 1 didn't work." Hunter said, walking with Hiccup down the hallway. The two just got out from lunch.

Hiccup gave him a look, "What?"

"Attempt 1 to get you to ask Astrid out."

"Uh...you're making it sound like some sort of experimental project." Hiccup said.

"You kicked my shin."

"You deserved it."

"What if I kicked you in the shin?"

"Then I'm telling Mom." Hiccup said with a grin. Typical. The younger ones always had the parents on their sides.

"You owe me something for going against our promise." Hunter said.

"Whatever." Hiccup said. "Just...don't do that again. You almost gave me a heart attack."

"You need a little push, that's all. What's it going to take for you to finally have the guts to actually do it?" Hunter asked.

"I need my time." Hiccup said casually.

"Well time is ticking, lover boy." Hunter rolled his eyes, "Senior year is coming, and you're not going to be a Junior forever."

"If I'm lucky enough, I'll at least ask her on a date once." Hiccup said.

"You really are stubborn." Hunter accused.

"Runs in the family." Hiccup shrugged. They stopped by Hiccup's locker.

While watching him take and put books from his locker, Hunter still pushed on, "Hiccup, you need to take my advice. Just _talk_ to her. That'll give you a head start. There's no harm in talking to her." he said.

"I appreciate your help but I got this. I have everything taken care of." Hiccup said.

"Oh really? What are you going to do once you see her? Still going to hide behind lockers until she leaves? That's actually the reason why she doesn't notice you, you know." Hunter said.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Anyway...I know what to do. And it's not the _just talking_ thing you want me to do. I can't just all of a sudden walk up to her and just...talk.

I don't want her to think I'm one of the people that likes to flirt with her out of nowhere. Have you seen those guys that got pummeled by her when they treated her in a dirty way?" Hiccup asked. "Astrid needs the respect she deserves."

"Then what do you have in plan?" he asked.

"Something where I can help her?" Hiccup said. "Class work, projects, studying...something that has a _reason_ for us to talk." He emphasized.

Hunter smirked, "If you're so determined and sure that you're right about that, then why don't you help her carry those books she's holding?" he pointed to his left.

Hearing Astrid's name from Hunter, Hiccup slammed his locker to see where she was. His brother was right. Around 40 feet from them was Astrid, carrying loads of heavy text books and notebooks on top.

Hiccup's mind went blank, his legs became frozen, and his heart dropped when he realized he was in the same room as her. His eye twitched, and a strand of hair popped out. He felt alone all of a sudden. He was in a dark room, Hunter wasn't here, the walls were closing in on him, and Astrid was just standing there looking at him.

"Uh...are you going to help her or not." Hunter asked. Astrid was almost close to them.

Hiccup blinked his nightmare away, "No...no I can't. I can't do it I'm not ready!" he exclaimed in worry. He knew Astrid was having a hard time holding all of those books and he was more than willing to help her. However, he couldn't make himself do it.

The auburn male turned to run away as fast as he could like he always does, until Hunter grabbed his wrist. Hiccup whipped his head back, horror written all over his face. "Hunter!" oh gods, not again.

"If you kick my leg again, you are walking to and from school for a month." Hunter threatened.

"Please, you don't understand!" Hiccup pleaded, pulling his wrist away. His heart pounded his chest, the hair on his arms rising when he saw how close Astrid was. "Hunter, let me go! I'm begging you here."

"Nope."

Hiccup panicked more. He struggled to get out of his grip, but Hunter wasn't having any more of this so he had to take matters into his own hands. The auburn male tried to process anything in his brain for a solution. But the only thing that came out was violence!

And violence he shall commit.

Moving fast, Hiccup stomped his heel on Hunter's foot, causing him to loosen his hold on his wrist. To make sure he doesn't go back for him, Hiccup pushed him before running away to gods know where.

Hunter found himself falling back, crashing into someone behind him. He heard the student squeak when he fell on top her. He pushed himself off the ground, hands on the floor beside the student's head. Hunter looked down to who he crashed into.

"Astrid!" Hunter exclaimed. The blonde female blushed under him, her face becoming red. "I am so sorry." he said. He sat up, helping her off her back. His blue eyes looked around them, seeing the textbooks all over the place. "Here let me help you."

"N-no, it's alright I can handle it." Astrid said, not looking his way to avoid him seeing the blush on her face. She still couldn't believe that happened to them.

Hunter didn't listen, picking up the textbooks off the floor. Astrid picked a few of the left notebooks. The two stood up together, a few seconds of silence between them. Hunter looked down at the textbooks and her. He did felt bad she was carrying them, might as well just help her. Darn, if only Hiccup were in his position, he'd cherish every moment he had with Astrid.

"Uh..you need help with these?" Hunter asked.

"No, it's..it's..alright." there was a small faint blush visible on her cheeks, "Here give me, my locker isn't that far away."

"I'm not taking no for an answer, missy." Hunter chuckled, "Come on, show me where your locker is. You look like you've been carrying these the whole day."

Astrid stared at him, another blush creeping on her face. "O-ok I guess." she stuttered. She lead him to her locker, opening it. Once her books were placed inside, she turned to him. "Thank you, Hunter."

He shrugged, "No, problem." he said, "Well, uh, gotta go. I'm going to be late for uh...English." he lied. He meant he was going to find where the heck his brother was to make him pay for what he just did.

"OK. I'll...see you in PE, I guess? Thanks again." Astrid said.

Hunter nodded before leaving. Astrid's eyes didn't leave his back until he was out of her sight. "Huh," she murmured. What was suddenly with Hunter? He's never given her notice before since she was a grade under him.

Nevertheless, a smile curved on her face at the thought of him bumping into her and helping her with her books.

Astrid closed the locker door shut, walking to her next class.

 _ **A Few Days Later**_

It was a lazy Monday, but the students were glad it was finally afterschool. Cars passed and stopped by the front of the school to pick up students, some walked because their houses were near, and some stood in line to wait for the bus.

Astrid sat on a bench, looking at her phone with a frown. Her parents couldn't pick her up. Her Mom was working extra hours at the restaurant she worked, and her father traveled out of town for a business meeting. Ingrid, her mother, told her to ask for a ride from her classmates.

However, her friends were busy with after school activities like cheerleading or clubs, meaning their parents won't pick them up until the next 1 or 2 hours. She can't take the bus since she didn't apply for a form to ride it. And walking was out of the list because her house was miles away, and she didn't do good with the heat.

Astrid sighed, looking down. She had to think of something. There was a project that's due tomorrow she needed to finish, and she's wasting her precious hours still here.

Meanwhile, Hunter and Hiccup were walking out of the doors of the school. They were making their way to Hunter's sports car - Hunter was still angry about the incident last week. Even though he made sure that Hiccup was going to walk if he ever kicked his shin again, but the auburn male emphasized that he didn't do that since it wasn't his shin that he hurt.

Smart bastard.

Before they could reach the parking lot, Hiccup stopped walking to notice Astrid sitting on one of the benches. Hunter saw him stop. "You OK?" he asked. Hunter looked to where Hiccup's eyes were focused. He saw Astrid. "Is it really the right time to gawk at your crush?"

"What? No." Hiccup said. "She looks down, Hunter. You think she's OK?" Hiccup asked, looking at the hunched Astrid. She was looking at the ground, her face not the usual happy face he's always seen.

"I don't know...why don't you go ask her? You have all the time in the world. I can wait here if you want." Hunter grinned, crossing his arms.

"That's crazy! I'm not just going to walk straight over to her!" Hiccup said.

"Then what are you going to do? Your future girlfriend looks like she's worried for something, and now you're just going to ignore and pretend like you didn't see her?" Hunter asked.

"I-I want to ask her what's wrong but you know me when it comes to her!" Hiccup complained.

"An unconfident introvert who becomes so self-conscious and nervous he violently attacks his own brother to get away from his crush as fast as possible then go back to being love struck and gawk at her when she's not looking?"

"You make it sound more worse than it actually is." Hiccup groaned.

Hunter sighed. He wrapped his arm around Hiccup's shoulder, "Come on." he said. He then started walking back to the school, Hiccup beside him.

"What the? Hunter what are you doing?!" Hiccup asked in a high-pitched voice. The nervous feeling sunk in his stomach, making his legs jelly again. "Hunt, this is getting old already! You need to stop!"

"And _you_ need to stop acting like a scared little boy. Be a man and talk to your girl!" Hunter complained, still progressing to walk to Astrid with him.

"Hunter!" Hiccup whined.

There was no getting away this time.

...

Astrid looked up to hear someone walking up to her. Her eyes looked up to see who, then when she saw Hunter stop a few feet from her, she rose from the bench. "Hunter!" Astrid exclaimed, pushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Hi..hey what...brings you here?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup scrambled out of his grip and hid behind Hunter's back before she notices him. He is going to kill Hunter after this. "Hello, Astrid." Hunter greeted innocently. "My brother and I were wondering, is something wrong? You look troubled." he said, pulling Hiccup back beside him. The auburn male gulped, standing as still as he could.

Astrid was still confused by the fact the two Haddocks suddenly approached her, but since Hunter has been extremely nice to her that day, she kind of wanted to talk to him now. And he noticed her out of everyone, she appreciated the acknowledge.

"O-oh...yeah, I uh.." she blushed a little bit, unable to look at him in the eye. Gods, what was happening to her? "I don't have a ride home. My parents are busy with work, I can't get a ride from the bus or my friends, and I can't risk walking under the sun at a time like this because I get heat exhausted."

Hunter thought for a second, "How convenient," he wrapped an arm around Hiccup again, "We-...I mean my brother was going to ask if you wanted a ride back to your home."

Hiccup blinked, "I did?"

"He did?" Astrid asked the same time as Hiccup.

"Sure he did!" Hunter said happily, "That's if you're OK with it."

Astrid smiled and nodded quickly, "Sure, I accept." She said.

The blonde female turned around to get her bag. Meanwhile, Hunter gave Hiccup a look, "See? Wasn't that bad right?" he whispered.

"I hate you." Hiccup spat back.

A smile was glued to Astrid's face, and she had no idea why. Was it because she was going to be dropped off by Hunter? Wait why is she suddenly excited about that? Whatever this tiny feeling was, she'll figure it out some other time.

The trio made it over to Hunter's sports car. Astrid sat at the the back while Hunter took the wheel, and Hiccup on the passenger's side. When they were on the road, Astrid gave directions on where to go. After that, it was pure silence in the car.

Usually, the two would start talking how their day was, crack jokes about each other or talk about Astrid for Hiccup's sake. Hiccup felt like he was going to explode soon, knowing Astrid was just behind him. The auburn male chose to be quiet to avoid any humiliation. Even with the look Hunter was giving him, Hiccup kept quiet.

The car stopped by Astrid's house, with no progress in talking whatsoever. Astrid gathered up her things, swinging her bag on her back before opening the door.

"Thanks for the ride." Astrid said, she eyed Hunter, "Bye, Hunter." he nodded. She then turned to Hiccup to bid him goodbye, "Bye-" Astrid stopped herself. Hiccup was crossing his arms, sinking into his seat and wasn't directly making any contact or acknowledge her through the whole trip. "-Hunter." she felt stupid all of a sudden. "uh, yeah, bye Hunter. Thanks again."

Astrid closed the door, making her way to the house. She had assumed Hiccup didn't want her there, which was odd since didn't Hunter say that it was Hiccup who offered her a ride? Nevertheless, to none of her knowledge, Hiccup was just shy every time he was around her.

Back inside the car, Hunter sighed and drove. "Nice going, Hiccup." he said.

"Hmp."

...

It was a new day, and also last block for the high school students. Hiccup was in a class called _Dragonology_. This subject is an elective class so that meant any student could take this class, doesn't matter if you're a Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior. Anyone who are interested in this class can take it.

This class mostly focused on Dragons, which existed during this time. Although some may think they are enormous creatures that reached to more than 50 feet, they were actually the size of dogs or cats and were extremely adorable! In this class, students learn every species of Dragons there is, their history, physical features, abilities, and in special occasions, they could bond with them.

It was almost time for the bell to ring, so the teacher, a middle aged man named Gobber, cleared his throat. The students looked at him, "Alright, class ends in 3 minutes so I might as well tell you about this." Gobber said.

"Tomorrow, a few baby dragons will be arriving in our school." Gobber said, "And those baby dragons will be ours for a few months or until we get them tamed and trained. As baby dragons, we know they won't listen to anyone, so starting tomorrow, all of you will use every knowledge you have about dragons to train the little ones."

Everyone bursted in excitement, all talking at once. "The dragons will arrive here tomorrow morning. You will all be graded on how well you do. Be warned, they are babies. We all know what happens when they get too excited. They almost set the school on fire once before." the students laughed.

"Moving on," Gobber said, "I know most of you have a lot in your schedule. Basketball season is coming up, academic competitions, rehearsals," he said, "I'm going to need at least 2 volunteers for an after school baby sitting...or dragon sitting. What I mean by that is I need 2 students to look after the dragons after school, or at least until they fall asleep."

When Astrid heard that, she giggled and raised her hand up really high, excitement showed in her face. Eventhough she had a busy schedule, she wanted to participate in this because she loves dragons, and adored the baby ones. "Ah, Astrid. Of course you would." Gobber chuckled, "Anyone else?"

Hunter smiled. He nudged Hiccup on the arm, "Dude, this is your chance." Hunter whispered, "Do it!"

"What? No, I can't." Hiccup said. Him and Astrid alone for 60 minutes together for almost everyday? That sounded like Valhalla but terror still hit him. He and Astrid will be _alone_ together.

"You've got to be kidding me." Hunter said.

"Shhh." Hiccup shushed.

"Anyone else?" Gobber was still looking around.

"It's either you or somebody else. You don't want anyone taking any chances with her, do you?" Hunter whispered.

"Yeah but...what if I make a fool of myself in front of her?" He asked. "A person like doesn't deserve to be with someone like her."

"Stop doubting yourself. You love dragons, she loves dragons. You guys can have a lot of stuff to talk about!" Hunter exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Come on guys, anyone else want to-"Gobber noticed Hunter, "Ah! Hunter Haddock!" He said.

Hiccup and Hunter froze.

"Thank you Astrid and Hunter for volunteering. You both start tomorrow." Gobber chirped.

Hunter looked at Hiccup in shock. Uh oh, that wasn't supposed to happen. "Wait, Gobber I-" Hunter stood up to talk, but the bell rung.

"Class dismissed!" Gobber said.

Everyone suddenly stood up, getting their essentials and walking out the classroom. Before leaving, Astrid turned her head around to look at the back of the class. She watched as Hunter put his books inside his bag. So, he volunteered coincidentally after her, huh? She thought.

Astrid smiled, followed by a blush when she left the room.

 _ **Next Day**_

"Lucky f**king bastard." Hiccup groaned, scowling at Hunter while the other students watch and hold the sleeping baby dragons that were like the size of kittens or hamsters. The two were alone near the back of the class while the others were at the front.

Hunter clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. Hiccup was angered by the fact Hunter was the one who is partnered with Astrid for the afterschool thing. "Uhm, in my defense, it was an accident. I didn't mean to raise my hand." Hunter said. "And, you were the one that held back. So this is your fault." Hunter crossed his arms.

Hiccup groaned, "I hate you." he said.

"Why not get a haircut like mine and you show up as me?" Hunter asked. "We basically look alike."

"That's a terrible idea." Hiccup said. "People are going to think I'm copying you. She can tell which is which, we have different color eyes." He pointed out.

"Oh yeah." Hunter said. "Sorry Hiccup, there's no changing Mr. Gobber's mind after yesterday." he grinned, "I'll make sure to talk about you to give her a hint."

"Don't. You. Dare." Hiccup said.

Hunter shrugged before walking away from him. As obvious as it is, Hiccup envied the fact that Hunter was going to be with Astrid every after school. Now he regretted not volunteering sooner. He blamed himself for being a coward. That after school thing for this class might have only been the only chance he can actually talk to Astrid.

Speaking of Astrid, Hiccup watched as the blonde hold a baby Deadly Nadder. The dragon was chirping and happily nuzzling close to her arms. It made Hiccup smile, not caring who saw him.

If only he had the courage.

...

"You really do love dragons, don't you?" Hunter asked.

It made Astrid jump, frightened with the sudden sound of his voice. It was 3:30 in the afternoon, and they were inside Gobber's class, feeding the dragons and making sure they sleep. The whole time they were here, it has been quiet, except for the squeals and chirps from the baby dragons. There were a total of 3 Deadly Nadders, 2 Monstrous Nightmares, 4 Gronckles, and a Zippleback.

"Hm?" Astrid turned her attention from the Deadly Nadders she was playing with, to Hunter. She saw him casually sitting on the desks near her. The mysterious blush appeared on her cheeks. "Oh yes. I do love them." she said. Astrid realized Hunter was a bit intimidating.

"Huh," Hunter noticed. He jumped down the desk and walked towards the back of the classroom where the dragons were, "Really?" she nodded. "Do you like any particular type of dragon?"

"Deadly Nadders." Astrid said. Hunter looked at the Nadders jumping up and down on the table, all wanting Astrid's attention, he should've noticed. The blonde smiled and looked back at the baby dragons, who all chirped to see her again, "I got an adult one back home. Her name's Stormfly, a sky blue one with a bit of yellow."

"What makes you love dragons so much?" Hunter asked, looking at his shoulder to see a green Gronckle resting on it. The dragon roared, but not as loud as the adult ones. **(Btw, the dragons here are smaller. Adult dragons are the size of like, dogs or cats, while Baby dragons are the size of hamsters, kittens, you see the point. It's cute when you think about it.)**

"What's not to love?" Astrid asked, giggling a bit. "They are adorable and just...amazing. They are so mysterious and love playing around. Other than that, when you bond with one, an unbreakable friendship is born." Astrid lifted her finger, a purple Nadder on it, "you and the dragon become closer than you thought, and they'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're happy and safe. That's what I love about dragons, they're always there for you when you're feeling at your worst."

The Baby Gronkle crawled on Hunter's arm, followed by a few more and a Monstrous Nightmare. There were even some on his hair. Nevertheless, away from Astrid's sight since his back was turned to her, a smile appeared on Hunter's face.

Hunter realized how similar Astrid and Hiccup were about their perspective on dragons. He reminded her of Hiccup too. Hunter does love dragons, but not as much as Hiccup and Astrid. The auburn male even has an adult Night Fury in their home.

The older auburn male snapped out of his thoughts when one of the Zipplebacks bit his ear. "Ouch!" he yelped, turning around to see one of the heads hanging from his ear like an earring.

Astrid looked at him, laughing once she saw all the dragons flocked around him. There were Gronckles making a nest out of his hair, the others on his arms, the Monstrous Nightmares were chasing each other around his body, and the Zippleback was still biting his ear.

The Nadders screeched and all flew to Hunter, taking place anywhere they can find. It made Astrid giggle, the view in front of her was adorable. Hunter was a dragon magnet!

Astrid stared at him while he tried to get the dragons off him, but they showed they love the male and didn't let go. A look was forming on her face that she didn't even realize. She started to admire Hunter all of a sudden without even knowing.

"Hey, stop that! My ear is not a chew toy!" Hunter scolded the Zippleback, but it still chomped on his ear. He looked back to Astrid for some help, but once he saw her face, her expression seemed to look familiar. A look he's seen with Hiccup when he looked at Astrid. Hunter was about to think about that, until another dragon bit his other ear. "OW! WILL YOU STOP THAT?!"

Astrid blinked, finally out of her trance. What was that all of a sudden? Why was she suddenly staring at Hunter? "Uh, Astrid? A little help please?" Hunter begged.

"Oh, sorry!" she apologized. She ran over to him, helping him get the clingy dragons off him. Some flew to Astrid, some just taking their place back on their tiny slabs of rock.

Astrid giggled and teased him about his problems with the dragons while taking the Gronckles off his hair. Hunter realized she was awfully close him, since she was tip-toeing and an inch from his body. Although he felt uncomfortable and bad because Hiccup was the one that liked her and suppose to be here, Astrid on the other hand, enjoyed his company.

Which was becoming a bad thing and a problem that Hunter hasn't noticed yet.

 _ **Valentine's Day**_

In the early morning, Astrid and Heather sat together in the cafeteria, eating breakfast.

It was Valentine's day. Love is in the air, couples around giving each other gifts, and all that lovey dovey stuff. Astrid hated Valentine's Day. Why? Because dozens of idiots are going to be giving her flowers and confessing their love to her. Which Astrid did not like.

Why? Because all of the boys who give her gifts are...in a few words, dirty, disgusting, perverts, and immature. They flirt in a way she didn't like, their presence annoyed her, they try to flatter her with words like "hot", "sexy", but in the end, they either get slapped on the face, sucker punched in the gut, or a knee to the groin.

Astrid's beginning to think boys just like her just because of her looks. However there was one time where a guy was actually nice and polite that liked her. But even though he was respectful and liked her personality, he started freaking out and said he hated dragons when he saw Stormfly on a night she invited him over.

When is a guy that actually likes her for her, treats her in a way that she deserves, and loves dragons as much as she does, enter her life?

On the corner of her eye, Astrid noticed a familiar figure walking in the room. Her head turned toward its direction, and to her surprise, it was Hunter. He walked inside to talk to a couple of his classmates.

And again, Astrid found herself looking at him with no knowledge of realizing her admiration for him. Was he always that cute? She never noticed him much before until she saw him at PE when he was awkwardly jumping near the bleachers. Then after that, she always saw him everyday. Was it because she started to notice his existence?

"I know that look." Heather smirked beside her. Astrid ignored her best friend and just continued to smile at Hunter, who didn't see her. The raven-haired girl leaned over to Astrid, "Did Cupid hit little Asty's heart with a love arrow?"

"Shut up, Heather." Astrid said jokingly, a blush appearing on her cheeks.

Heather smirked, "Who's the lucky guy? Must be special to have the Astrid Hofferson goggle at." she said. Astrid didn't respond, instead, she continued to look at someone. Heather squinted her eyes, following her line of vision. Once she saw who Astrid was looking at, her dark green eyes widened in shock, " _Hunter_ Haddock?" Heather whispered, knowing Astrid will punch her if anyone heard her.

Astrid sighed dreamily, which was unlike her. "Is it obvious?" she asked.

"Definitely." Heather said. She continued to eat her cereal. "What suddenly made you like him?" she asked.

Astrid thought for a second before replying, "I...I think he likes me." Astrid said.

Heather arched a brow, "What makes you think that?" she asked. "Isn't he a Senior? He's a grade over you, what made you suddenly notice him out of the hundreds of other Seniors?"

"Uhm well," Astrid remembered, "It started a few weeks ago in PE class. You see how he was assigned to help the PE teacher? Yeah, he was there. After volleyball, I saw him alone and just staring at me. When he realized I was looking, he just became awkward and just turned away.

"Then there was the time when he offered me a ride back to my house when I couldn't get any from anyone," Astrid explained. "And then in Dragonology, when I volunteered to baby-sit the dragons, he also volunteered after knowing I volunteered. Doesn't that sound fishy?"

"Hmm," Heather said. "He could possibly like you. I've seen movies about these types of scenarios." she wiggled her eyebrows at Astrid, "Ooooh, Astrid's finally got the boy she's looking for."

"Will you shut up?" Astrid giggled, but sighed sadly. "I'm still not sure. What if it's just a coincident? I can't just jump into conclusions." she said.

"I say he does like you." Heather said, "The clues are right there. Just wait and see how everything unravels." Astrid shrugged. "I'm guessing Valentines this year for you is going to be the best." Heather said once Astrid smiled.

"Oh, Astrid!" someone sang behind them.

Astrid and Heather turned around to see Snotlout holding a heart-shaped box filled with chocolate inside. She groaned.

"I guess not..."

...

It was morning break, and Astrid was looking through her locker. It was only 10 o'clock yet and she's already rejected more than 20 guys that were all the same: immature, jerks, egotistical, and the list goes on.

Meanwhile, at the very edge of the lockers, was Hiccup. He was leaning on them, his breathing was ragged like he was hyperventilating. On his hands were a bouquet of red roses, which he was holding really tight. His palms were sweaty, and he felt like he was going to explode like a volcano in a few moments.

He could do this. He planned this ever since last week: to make a move on Astrid by giving her flowers on Valentine's Day. Hiccup did notice her reject a few guys, but only because those were students who she despised. Hiccup wasn't like that, he was a gentleman and never thought of disrespecting Astrid.

The problem was, would she even accept the roses? True, Hiccup wasn't like the other guys and he liked Astrid because of who she is, there was a possibility she would still reject him.

 _Alright Hiccup, you can do this. Just walk up to her, say hi, give her this, and..uh it looks more complicated that I imagined._

"Red roses and haven't fainted when knowing Astrid is just 15 feet from you." Hunter said out of nowhere. "You really are taking this to the next level."

Hiccup looked up to see Hunter with a cocky grin, "Will you go away? You're not helping." Hiccup spat. "Everytime you help me with Astrid something bad happens."

"Blaming others for your own misery." Hunter said.

"Shut up." Hiccup said. He looked back at Astrid.

"Just start walking to her. You can do it, Hiccup." Hunter encouraged.

Hiccup stepped out of his tiny hiding place and face Astrid, "Alright...but..stop talking now, you're going to pressure me." Hiccup said.

Hunter lifted his hands up and backed away.

Taking a deep breath, Hiccup looked over to Astrid.

And that was when he felt like falling into a pit of nothing.

Everything became black, and it was just him and Astrid. He started sweating aggressively, eventually going to get blinded by his own sweat. His breathing increased, his legs shook. The walls were closing in and it was hard to breath now.

To his horror and imagination, he saw Astrid moving toward him like it was him who was walking. However, his feet were glued to the ground in terror, and his mind was playing games with him. Stupid brain.

"Aahh, Hunter.." Hiccup said nervously. He then took a step back, which made the darkness go away and everything go back to normal. "I can't," he dropped the roses to the ground, "I can't do it." he turned around and as always, ran away.

Hunter saw a blur pass by, and there Hiccup goes. "This is seriously getting old." Hunter said. "Hiccup!" he groaned. Hunter picked up the fallen roses, a few petals falling down once he did. Hunter was to run to follow him, but he bumped into a Junior in doing so.

"Hey!" it was Heather.

"Oh, sh*t sorry." Hunter said. Suddenly, he remembered Heather was a close friend of Astrid's. He looked at the roses Hiccup got for Astrid. It would be bad for these to go to waste. "Can you do me a favor?" Hunter asked. He handed her the roses, "Can you give these to your friend Astrid? Thanks, I appreciate it."

And with that, Hunter ran away.

Heather looked at the bouquet of roses on her hands. She then looked at Astrid, back to the roses, then to the Hunter running away.

...

Astrid finally gathered the books she need for her class, stuffing them in her bag. When she closed her locker door shut, she jumped in shock to see Heather with a smirk on her face. "What the? Heather!"

She said nothing and presented her with a handful of roses. Astrid rolled her eyes, "If those are from another guy I despise, then drop them in the trash like the others." Astrid turned around to head to class.

"Actually, you'll be glad to know who these came from." Heather said, which made Astrid stop. She turned back around. "Here you go," Heather winked, "From _Hunter_ to you."

Astrid immediately grabbed the roses from her. She looked at them, excitement bubbling in her chest. "Are..are you serious?" Astrid asked.

"Yep." Heather popped the P. "He bumped into me, gave me the flowers, and told me to give them to you." she said. Astrid blushed and looked at the roses, she was touched. "He must have been too shy to give them to you."

And that moment, Astrid was sure Hunter liked her. She doubted that idea at first, but now that he gave her these roses, it answered her one and only question.

 _ **After school**_

"You disappoint me." Hunter said. He never saw Hiccup again until last block. After the rose incident, Hiccup had hid from Hunter. "You had one chance, and you blew it. I guess you have to wait for the next Valentine's Day. Just hope she's still single next year. I'm beginning to give up on helping with you with all this."

The two were walking to the parking lot. Hunter and Astrid weren't staying afterschool for her Dragonology class because Gobber was looking after them for now.

"You're terrible." Hiccup said. "I don't know why it always occur to me when I see Astrid."

"You just need confidence. And right now...you don't have any." Hunter said.

"It might be easy for you because you're not the one that has a crush on her!" Hiccup explained. "You don't feel any butterflies, you don't feel the hard pounding of your heart...you don't understand how I feel when I'm around her."

"Why don't you jus-"

"Hunter! Hey! Wait up!"

Hunter and Hiccup both stopped to turn around to see who called. When they saw a familiar blonde with blue eyes, Hiccup's mouth dropped. Hunter was ready to catch him if he ever fainted. "Uh, hey?" Hunter asked once Astrid reach them.

Astrid panted, "Thank Thor you're still here, whew." it looks like she's been running a lot.

"Do you..." Hunter looked at Hiccup, "..need anything? Because Hiccup here can-" Hiccup elbowed him on the gut.

Astrid smiled, silent a few seconds to think what she was about to say. Meanwhile, Hiccup looked at her. Instead of the usual anxious feeling, he was confused. Why was she looking at Hunter like that? Did he even notice it? Whatever it was, Hiccup wished it was him Astrid was looking at with that expression.

"I-I...I was uhm, wondering..." Astrid stuttered. Her eyes still stayed on Hunter, who looked at her with confusion, "S-since you're a Senior and well, you took Ms. Jennelyn's Geometry class when you were a Junior, which I'm taking now, would..would you mind coming over..to uhm, help me with my work?"

The two siblings were wide eyed in shock, mostly Hunter. Astrid waited for a response, but she was beginning to think she shocked him a bit. Hunter looked over to Hiccup for help, but he was still in a shocked state, unable to move. "Uh...s-sure, Astrid." Hunter said.

Her face lit up, "Really?" she asked. Hunter nodded unsurely, "Thank you!" Astrid said excitedly. "Come by around 6 today at my house. I'll see you there." she said. "Bye, Hunter." she turned to leave, "Bye, Hiccup." then off she goes, a smile and blush visible on her face.

Once she was gone, Hunter and Hiccup looked at each other. What...just happened?

The two let the truth sink in.

 _Astrid Hofferson just asked Hunter Haddock for a study date._

Hunter was _shocked_.

Hiccup was _angry_.

 _ **To be continued...**_


	2. Part 2 (End)

_**Normal POV**_

The auburn male pushed Hunter to a corner of the school, away from everyone. Once the older male's back hit the wall, he lifted his hands up, "H-hey!" Hunter said nervously. Even though Hunter was the older brother, Hiccup was still terrifying when angry. "W-well at least she knows your name?" Hunter tried to make him stay positive.

Hiccup scowled at him, "What was that about?" he asked.

Hunter sighed and shook his hand off, "Look, I had nothing to do with it." Hunter said truthfully. His green eyes squinted in suspicion, "Honest!" Hunter said. "I know how much Astrid means to you, I would never think of stealing her away from you!"

"Then explain." Hiccup demanded, "Explain, out of everyone in this school, out of her hundreds of friends, why would she ask _you_ for help?" he poked Hunter's chest, "She barely knows you! You're from a different class!"

"I don't know OK?! Don't blame me that all of sudden your crush asks me to help her with her Geometry homework." Hunter said. Hiccup grunted in frustration, his hands curling to fists. Hunter sighed, "Hiccup, I'm sorry. I really am telling you the truth. I have no idea about her confrontation."

"You better be." Hiccup felt betrayed.

"But I'm telling the truth! You have to believe me!" Hunter said desperately.

Hiccup took a deep breath to calm down, "I just...I don't understand." he said. "Why is it suddenly you now? She could of have asked me, I'm in her class."

"If she did then you'd be running away faster than light."

"I'm gonna punch you. You're not helping." Hiccup said.

"I'm proving a point." Hunter crossed his arms, looking at him sternly. "If you finally faced your fear and stopped running away every time Astrid is near, you two would probably have some sort of friendship right now."

Hiccup were to retort something back, but groaned, "I hate it when you're right." he said.

"Hey," he placed a hand on his shoulder, "Use this as your advantage."

"Use what exactly?" Hiccup asked.

"Your jealousy, duh." Hunter said. "Maybe this could finally motivate you start talking to Astrid before anyone else takes a chance on her."

Hiccup scoffed, "What? Me? _Jealous_ of you? You wish." he didn't sound convincing.

"Admit it." Hunter smirked. "You're jealous!"

"I am not!"

"Mhmm," Hunter laughed, "So you don't mind if I wrap my arms around her while I help her study the-"

"HUNTER!"

 _That Night_

"Wait," Astrid said, tapping her pencil on the paper on her desk. She and Hunter were in her room, sitting down near her desk, where papers scattered around. "Isn't the formula Surface Area equals 4 times pi times r squared?" Astrid corrected.

Hunter blinked, looking at his work on the paper. He was absolutely wrong. "Oh yeah, my bad." he said. Astrid only giggled, and they continued to talk back and forth with answers and questions.

However, once they were close to finishing, Hunter started to question this study date thing. Astrid seems be doing fine with Geometry, why would she ask help from him? The whole session mostly consisted of Astrid correcting Hunter with formulas and how to solve it.

It was as if it was Astrid who was helping him.

That was strange.

Not the fact that Hunter wasn't really good at Geometry, but the fact that Astrid asking him for help when she clearly knows more about the subject than him.

"Is that it?" Hunter asked.

"Yep." Astrid gathered the papers, inserting them in a green folded. "Thank you for helping me, Hunter." Astrid smiled, standing up to put her stuff away.

'Yeah...and thank you for making me remember the pain Geometry had given me last year.' Hunter said to himself. But then come on, who remembers Math lessons you learn last year? He doesn't.

"I'll get you something to drink and eat before you go."

"Oh, no that's alright." Hunter said.

"No, no, I insist." Astrid said before running out if the room.

Hunter shrugged watching her walk out the room. His eyes caught something on the night stand near the bed. Hunter sat up straight to look at them. It was the roses Hiccup gave to Astrid, now transported into a blue vase.

He kept staring into the vase of roses until Astrid returned with a tray of snacks and drinks.

...

The door to the Hofferson Residence opened, Hunter coming out. "Hunter, hey, wait a minute." Astrid said. She stood still by the door while he was still by the porch, just a feet from her.

"Yeah?" Hunter asked.

Astrid looked nervous, thanking the dark for hiding the blush on her cheeks. "I-I just wanted to say thanks." she said.

Hunter looked at her confusingly, "You've already said that." he said, "You don't really need to thank me that much." he shrugged.

"No...no not that." Astrid giggled before taking a deep breath, "I want to thank you for the...uhm..the flowers." She said, pulling a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"Flowers?" Hunter asked. He doesn't recall any-

Wait a minute...

"Yeah. The flowers you gave me in school." Astrid said. "Heather gave them to me, saying they came from you." she started blushing more, "I-I love them by the way."

Hunter couldn't talk. He was beyond shocked at this point. She...she thought those were from him?!

"I know this...is all of a sudden but, before I...thought you liked me because of what I saw with the part where you offered me a ride and the time I saw you alone and just waving hi to me." Astrid said, "I wasn't sure that time but when you gave me the flowers...I just wanted to say... _I like you, too_." Astrid said.

And then the next thing he knew, Astrid closed the space between, tip-toeing to give his cheek a kiss before giving him a hug. She didn't notice the petrified look on his face.

 _Oh, sh*t._

...

While driving back home, Astrid's words still lingered around his mind.

 _I like you, too._

 _I like you, too._

 _I like you, too._

 _I like you, too._

Hunter gulped once he pulled over to the grass. He couldn't breath all of sudden so he walked out the car for fresh air.

Oh, gods. What did he just get himself into?

 _I like you, too._

Astrid likes him. ASTRID LIKES HIM!

And HICCUP is going to KILL him!

What did she say again? About the whole...what is he thinking, Astrid thought that Hunter liked her before? What..how did that happen? What made her think that? Has she always liked him?

Whatever the answer was, it was not good. If his brother finds out about this , he will freak and tear Hunter apart. Literally.

Maybe...maybe if he didn't tell Hiccup, he won't know. That's the only solution. And maybe if he ignored Astrid, then she won't like him anymore. That idea was a problem because the two of them stay afterschool in Dragonology class!

Hunter sighed as he leaned his back on the car door. He assumed Astrid must have started to have an interest in him because of Hiccup. How you ask? Everytime Hunter tries to get Hiccup to make a move on Astrid, he runs away and Hunter will be the one Astrid notices.

Just like the time where Hunter accidentally volunteered for afterschool baby-sitting when encouraging Hiccup to volunteer. And the time Hiccup was going to give Astrid flowers, he ran away and dropped the flowers. Where Hunter picked them up and asked Heather to give it to Astrid. And then that's when she thought they were from him!

And to top it all off, when she asked Hunter to come by her house today, it wasn't to ask help, but to hang out.

It all made sense.

Now realizing this, he slid down to the ground, not wanting to go back home with the guilt of knowing Astrid had fallen in love with him.

Hiccup is so going to kill him.

...

"Are you OK?" Hiccup asked curiously, looking at his brother who's been staring off to nothing. "And you're sweating...when it's clearly cold out this morning."

"Me? Sweating? Pff, no." Hunter said nervously. The two were walking inside the school doors, passing a few students. "What makes you think that? I'm not...hiding anything or whatever.."

Hiccup just looked at him with a weirded out look, "Uh...OK?" he asked. Last night when Hunter arrived home, Hiccup was waiting in the kitchen like he's been expecting him. The auburn male interrogated Hunter for several minutes until they had to go to sleep. Of course, Hunter lied and made sure to never mention about Astrid until her interest in him die out.

"Uhm...come to think of it hehe," Hunter gulped, walking faster than Hiccup now, "I have...somewhere to go to." Hunter said, trying to come up with another excuse, "My...classmates needed help with their...Trigonometry homework, so..they asked me to help them. Yeah..yeah that sounds right."

Hiccup rose a brow at his weirdness. The older auburn male started backing away, a nervous smile on his face. "I'll...uh, see you later!" Hunter yelped before sprinting to his first block.

Hiccup watched him with suspicion. He knew Hunter was lying. His older brother was such a terrible liar.

Just like how terrible he is in Math.

He is hiding something.

...

"You look so in love there's hearts popping out of your head." Heather grinned, looking at Astrid.

"Huh?" Astrid blinked, looking away from the board to Heather.

"If you keep doing that face, people are going to start noticing." Heather warned. She scooted closer to Astrid's desk, "You haven't told me how your study date went! Describe, and tell me all the details."

Astrid laughed at Heather's sudden interrogation, "OK, OK. Don't be so loud." Astrid shushed, looking around to see a few students in her Biology class. It was still Break Time so they can talk, "When we worked on the worksheet, I found it cute when he kept getting the questions wrong. I was just glad he didn't get suspicious.

"And then when he was going to leave, I stopped him and well...told him everything." Heather's eyes glimmered for her to continue, "I told him that I liked him back..a-and I kissed his cheek before hugging him. You have no idea how nervous I was to do that."

Heather squealed, "Aww, what did he do next?" she asked eagerly.

"After I hugged him, he hugged back...kind of awkwardly since he was so stiff. I guess he didn't expect that." Astrid shrugged.

The two girls continued to chat about what happened last night in Astrid's house, unaware of the auburn male that heard them.

...

Hunter parked his car inside the garage of his home, walking out and swinging his bag to his back. He arrived alone today because he had the afterschool dragon watching still, meaning Hiccup went home earlier. Speaking of after school, it was terribly awkward inside the classroom.

Hunter said no word at all. The atmosphere in the room was tense. He hoped this would lessen Astrid's progressing crush on him more. Although he felt guilty for not talking to her since she looked crestfallen the whole time, and Hiccup would probably get angry about that.

He sighed, opening the door to the house. Hunter just hoped this was all a dream he was having.

"WOAH!" Hunter screamed once he got tackled on the ground out of nowhere. His blue eyes looked up to see angry green ones, hate directly towards him. "What the-...Hicc-"

"YOU TRAITOR!" Hiccup shouted, wrapping his hands around his neck to strangle him, not with force to actually hurt him.

"W-what are you talking about?" Hunter asked with a look on his face, "What is wrong with you?"

"You know what I'm talking about." Hiccup said gritting his teeth.

Hunter furrowed his brows, still confused about what he was talking about. "I don't know what you're talking about! Now will you please get off me? Go hang out with Toothless or something, this is getting weird." Hunter said.

Hiccup didn't move, a scowl still visible, trying to hint Hunter what he was trying to show, "Answer me honestly." he demanded, "What happened between you and Astrid last night? I know there was more to just answering Math questions."

It hit Hunter like a pile of bricks. "Oh.." he muttered. This wasn't anger coming from Hiccup, this was jealousy. Well it was kind of anger, but it mostly came out from jealousy. "Uh..yeah about that.."

"I can't believe you!" Hiccup said in disbelief. He let go of Hunter's neck and sat up, "You're my brother, why would you even think of doing that?"

"I know it looks bad but you need to hear me out..." Hunter said. He tried to stand up but Hiccup held him down.

"And what? Hear more of your lies?" Hiccup asked.

"No. Hiccup, you're overreacting." Hunter said. "Just let me explain, and we can settle this like normal, civilized men."

"Are you kidding me?" Hiccup asked with an unimpressed look. "You acted so whiny like a spoiled child when you realized I got more gifts than you last Snoggletog."

Hunter glared at him, "Leave Snoggletog out of this." he said. "It's either we talk this out or I'll do it the hard way."

"Oh no, I'm so scared." Hiccup said sarcastically. "What are you going to do then, smart*ss?"

"Something bold and manly that doesn't have to include using violence against you," Hunter grinned.

Hiccup raised a brow at his reply. It was true, they promised no violence among each other years ago. Not counting the time Hiccup kicked his shin to get away from Astrid one time.

Hunter knew the right solution for this. He took a deep breath before yelling as loud as he can, "MOOOOOOOM! DAAAAAAAAD! HICCUP'S TRYING TO HURT-" Hiccup covered his hand on Hunter's loud mouth.

"Don't you dare get Mom and Dad involved in this." Hiccup whispered - really? That was his _bold and manly_ plan? "This is between you and-" Hiccup paused once he felt something wet and slimy touch his palm. He quickly pulled his hand away like it was just burned, "Ewwwwwww! Did you just...did you just lick my hand?!" Hunter snorted, "You are so gross. This is more disgusting than Toothless' spit." Hiccup said.

Hunter rolled his eyes, "Hiccup look, if you heard about this from Astrid or anyone she shared this too...it's not what it looks like." Hunter said. He was about to protest but Hunter continued, "As I was saying, whatever she said is a misunderstanding. Or it's more like what she's _thinking_ is a misunderstanding."

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked.

"Astrid thinks I like her." Hunter sighed.

"What?!" Hiccup asked. "Though...you don't right?"

"Of course not. Sure, yes, she's pretty and every guys' dream girl, but I know for a fact you like her and once you actually give yourself a chance to talk to her, she'll like you too." Hunter said.

"And how are you so sure about that?" Hiccup asked.

"Bro, the only reason she likes me is because of what you've done." Hunter said. "All the opportunities you had with her, I accidentally get stuck with them in the end. Remember in PE? She noticed me only because you left the court, leaving me alone, awkwardly waving hi to her.

"The afterschool thing for Mr. Gobber's class? When I tried to get you to volunteer, Mr. Gobber thought I volunteered instead, and that was when Astrid thought I had a thing for her or something. And then last Valentine's day? You chickened out and drop the roses you bought her. I picked them up and asked her friend, Heather I think, to give them to her.

"When she gave them to Astrid, Heather thought they were from me so that's what she told Astrid." Hunter explained, hoping Hiccup will believe him. He was desperate right now. "Yes, I did hug her back, but I didn't want her to be suspicious of me because I didn't want to tell her the truth about you."

Hiccup listened closely, taking in his words. He let out a sigh, "What now then?" he asked, beginning to stand up. He helped Hunter to his feet.

"I don't know, it's your turn to think this through. I'm already helping you by trying to get Astrid to stop liking me." Hunter said. Hiccup groaned, "Hey, it's that or you lose Astrid forever. Think about the fact that you're losing her to me." Hunter said.

"I hate you."

"Love you, too, bro."

...

"Hunter?" Astrid said for the first time today after school. He turned around, "Where are the rocks that Mr. Gobber said to feed the Gronckles?" She asked.

"I think they're in the storage room right there." he pointed to a brown door at the other side of the room.

"Oh, OK." was her only reply before she walked toward the storage room. She opened the door, walking inside. Astrid turned on the light, her blue eyes scanning the small room. There were just pantries of jars, containers, and boxes. Her head tilted up to see a jar of rocks, with a name that said 'Gronckles'. The problem was, she couldn't reach it. "Hunter can you come here for a second?"

Hunter left the baby dragons that started to sleep, "You need help?" He appeared by the door.

"The jar's all the way up there. Can you get it for me?" she asked, pointing to the highest part of the pantry. This was the first time they talked after their study date, and Astrid was glad to start talking to him again. She assumed she must have freaked him out with the kiss and hug.

"Oh, yeah sure." Hunter said. He walked in, pulling the door behind him.

Astrid saw the door closing, "Wait no! Don't let the-" the door slammed shut. "...door close."

Hunter whipped his body back, seeing the door close. "What? What's wrong?" He asked. He noticed there was no doorknob in this side. "Oh..."

"Is anyone by any chance outside? Or at least outside in the hallways?" Astrid asked.

"I don't think so. The janitors are probably cleaning the restrooms, and the truant officers are off campus by now." Hunter said.

"So we're going to be stuck here?" Astrid gasped. When they were going to leave the class, they were the ones to lock up the classroom and then leave. The idea of staying here until night made her paranoid...although, she was a little glad Hunter was here.

"No, so don't worry." Hunter said. That made her a little disappointed. "We only have 5 minutes left until we go home, that means my brother just got out from his football practice." he reached to his back pocket, "let me get my phone and I'll call him." his hand froze.

He left his phone on the counter in the classroom.

"On second thought..." Hunter said. The blonde female sighed, taking a seat on the ground beside the pantry. "Let's just wait for a few minutes. I'm his only ride to get to home, so he'll notice why we're late." he said.

Hunter sat next to her since this storage room was really small, and wherever, however he sat, it would still be next to Astrid.

Meanwhile, Hiccup looked at the school doors for a while, waiting for his brother to come out. He's 5 minutes late, Hunter usually comes out on time with Astrid. Where were they?

Wanting not to wait, Hiccup stood up and walked inside, making his way to Gobber's class.

Back with the two inside the storage room, they kept a conversation to lessen the awkward atmosphere, "So, are you and your brother close?" Astrid asked.

"You can say that." Hunter said.

Astrid smiled, "Must be really great to have a sibling. I'm an only child. The only relative I have that I treat like a sister is my cousin, but she's not really here in Berk that often. She'll be coming here this week, that's good." she said.

Hunter nodded, pausing to think for a bit. Come to think of it, this may be a right time to talk about something. "What do you think of my brother?" Hunter asked. He hoped it wasn't sudden.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked, looking at him. She glanced down to her feet, "Oh, I..don't know. I know him of course since he's in all my classes...but we never talk. I think the only time we talked was in Freshman year and then after that, we never talked again.

"He has a lot of friends and he talks to almost everyone in our class." Astrid said. "But he doesn't talk to me, not even to ask for a pencil or to be partners." she looked at him, "Does..does he hate me or something?"

"What? No, of course not!" _He loves you._ "Hiccup's not the type of person to hate other people. He's really kind and treats everyone nicely."

"That doesn't explain why he ignores me." Astrid said.

"He...he doesn't ignore you." Hunter said. "He just..." maybe this was a bad idea to talk about. "Well...uh..let's drop it. You know...I'll ask him today. But don't think he hates you, I'm perfectly sure."

Astrid shrugged. "I'm sorry for getting us stuck in here. You must have other things to do right now...I'm sorry if I wasted your time." she said.

Hunter laughed, "What are you apologizing for? I should be the one saying sorry. You're not the one that didn't know there wasn't a knob at this side of the door."

Astrid smiled, "Well, at least I'm stuck here with you." she said quietly, but it was enough for him to hear it. Hunter was suppose to ask her more about that comment until she placed her head on his shoulder.

A chill went down his spine and he could feel the hair behind his neck rise. Oh, no. This was not good. This was certainly not good at all.

Hunter was stiff as a rock, and did not move at all. What was he going to do? Just straight up tell her to move away? He couldn't do that! Astrid still liked him. If her crush starts to become more serious, that would cause problems between him and Hiccup.

Astrid moved her head a little to look at him, still leaning to his shoulder, "Are you alright? You're shaking." she said.

He couldn't do it anymore. The guilt was eating him inside. Hunter had no choice but to tell Astrid the truth about him and Hiccup. He just hoped his brother won't mind. "Astrid?" he called out. She still looked at him, "We..need to talk."

"Talk about what?"

"Look...I-I haven't been completely honest with you. I should have said this before for Hiccup's sake and-"

Hunter stopped himself when the door opened.

...

Hiccup looked around the empty classroom. The baby dragons were fast asleep except for a couple of Gronckles, who were playing around and flying everywhere. He'd love to check them out because he adored dragons, especially the little ones.

He heard inaudible voices coming from the storage room. Hiccup paused to look at the door - he knew the only 2 people in there. The auburn male walled to the door without thinking, twisting the doorknob and pulling the door open. Hiccup expected some sort of make-out session for some reason, which made him angry to know Hunter had lied to him.

However, instead, Hiccup sees the girl he's been crushing since Freshman year leaning her head on Hunter's shoulder while they look at each other. Hunter was suppose to say something, but once the door opened, he shut his mouth when he saw his younger brother.

"Hiccup?!" Hunter yelped. Astrid shrieked in fright, sitting up straight.

Hiccup didn't say a word. All he could imagine was the image he saw when he opened the door. The picture pained him, it hurt so much. He knew the feeling was a mixture of jealousy, anger, and sadness. It was mostly sadness right now, and all he could do was just stare at them with an emotionless look.

Hunter stood up quickly, followed by Astrid. "I..I was just looking for you. It's past 4 already and I..need to finish something at home." Hiccup didn't let Hunter say another word, walking out the door to wait for him outside.

There was definitely tension coming out from the two siblings, which Astrid did not understand. It was better to ignore it since it was not her business anyway. Hunter checked his watch - it was time to go home, so not they'll lock up the room after making sure the baby dragons are fast asleep.

...

Outside the school, Hunter leaned on one of the pillars while he waited for Astrid to finish making a call - she borrowed his phone since hers ran out of credit. Hunter looked over to his right to see Hiccup sitting on one of then benches outside the school, waiting for him.

They haven't said anything to each other after walking out the classroom. It was killing Hunter with guilt, and he felt like he had to do something about it. Sighing, Hunter walked over to his brother.

"Hiccup," Hunter called out. He looked back. Hunter expected Hiccup to tell him to go away or shout at him, but instead, Hiccup just looked away in sadness. He looked damaged and betrayed. "Hiccup, we need to talk."

With Astrid, she finished her call with her Mom, who told her she'll be here in 10 minutes. "OK, thanks Mom, love you." Astrid said. She hung up when her mom said love you back. "Hunt-" she turned to call Hunter to give him his phone back, however, he was not where Astrid last saw him.

Looking around for a second, she found Hunter with Hiccup. Astrid walked to them, but stopped when Hiccup stood up to face his older brother. The two looked serious, and she stepped back to give them their space. _I should just wait for them_ , she thought.

"You need to tell Astrid." Hunter said.

Astrid stopped walking when she heard her name come out of Hunter's mouth. She hid behind one of the pillars, her back on it while she eavesdropped on their conversation. She felt bad for doing this, but they were talking about her and she was curious. Why had Hunter said that? And what about Hiccup?

Hiccup shook his head, "Do I have to?" he asked sighing, "Astrid clearly shows she likes you, and I can't take that away from her." Hiccup sounded defeated, "She picked you, you can have her, it's too late for me anyway." he sat back down but still faced him.

"You're giving up that easily?" Hunter asked, "Hiccup, you can't do that." he said. "I've watched you admire Astrid for years, and now you're going to throw all that away just because of a misunderstanding?"

"There's nothing more for me to do!" Hiccup exclaimed, "She fell in love you, Hunt. She wants you, and not me. I'm not going to force her to like me...some people aren't just..meant to be."

"Why are you suddenly doubting everything you believed? You can't just give up so early." Hunter said, "I'm sorry, OK? Maybe if I had stayed away Astrid wouldn't have noticed me. Although, Hiccup, you need to tell her the truth."

"And then get my heart broken when she says she wants you instead?" Hiccup asked.

"Don't think of it like that. Astrid's a sweet girl, she'll understand if you explain it to her." Hunter said.

"You're not sure about that."

"I've been staying after school with her almost everyday. She's nice and understanding, Hiccup. You can trust me on this." Hunter said. Hiccup shrugged, looking down. "Dude, are you really willing to throw away all of it?

"If you really care about Astrid, then you need to think about her. Do you want her to fall in love with someone that doesn't love her?" Hunter asked. "If this crush Astrid has turns more serious and you don't tell her sooner, you're going to watch her get broken hearted when I turn her down.

I'll feel guilty for doing that, but I can't imagine myself spending my life with someone that reminded me of someone that should have been with my brother instead." Hunter said. "I don't want to hurt Astrid, Hiccup, she's been nothing but a nice person to me. And I know you don't want her to get hurt to."

Hunter continued on, "Hiccup, you and Astrid are meant for each other. You have a lot of things in common than you think. Just give yourself a chance to finally talk to her. Stop hiding and tell her how you feel."

"Alright, fine, I love Astrid, OK?!" Hiccup exclaimed, standing up to his feet. "I've always thought it was all going to be a short term crush that I'll forget like always, but I had to fall in love with a goddess in the end...but to only realize she likes you...Hunter, I messed up. I should have confessed ever since.

"I don't know what to do...I'm not sure what to do..." Hiccup sighed, "Astrid won't show any interest in me when she still thinks you like her. I want to tell her the truth...but I don't have the right time. I just want her to know that it's been me the whole time...from offering her a ride then the flowers for Valentine's Day.."

Astrid has been listening to their conversation for a long time. She was beyond shocked at what they were talking about. The blonde female wasn't entirely mad or something, just shocked at the truth. When Hiccup mentioned about the flowers, she realized, from what she's learned from the conversation, the flowers weren't from Hunter, they were from Hiccup.

This all made her body froze, causing the phone on her hand to fall. Astrid gasped once it landed on the ground, making a sound that was sure that made them hear. The phone bounced one time before landing face down. Luckily, the screen didn't crack or got scratched thanks to the protective case around it.

"Astrid?" she heard two voices.

She didn't pick up the phone, looking to the side to see her there. Astrid straightened her back, the first one she looked at was Hiccup. His expression clearly explaining what he was thinking.

Silence fell upon them until Hunter walked forward. He picked up his phone, looked at Astrid with a small smile before walking back to Hiccup. Hunter nudged his arm, "Now or never, bro." he said before walking away.

Hiccup's eyes widened, turning his head back to see Hunter walking away. Oh gods, he was on his own. He looked back at Astrid, who stood there with a look. Hiccup couldn't believe this was happening. He had to this, there was no point in running away anymore.

Taking a deep breath, he walked to her with all the confidence and courage he had, gaining more the closer he was to her, "You..you heard all of that?" Hiccup asked, scratching the back of his head. Astrid nodded slowly. "Oh, yeah, you did.." he bit his lip. He tried his best not to make it awkward and go straight to the point.

"Astrid, I'm sorry." Hiccup said. "If you get hurt from what I'm going to tell you..then I accept that it's my fault. Hit me, slap me, punch me in the gut, it doesn't matter, you deserved the truth." he said. "Astrid, I like you. It's not Hunter if that's what you think...it's a misunderstanding.

"My brother has been trying to get me to talk to you for years. Everytime he tried, I'll back out and run away faster than light to make sure you don't see me." Hiccup explained, "After that, Hunter got into the mess that I left, making you think it's him that liked you. The flowers that you thought were from him...they were actually from me."

Astrid waited quietly for him to continue, "You...have no idea how much I wanted to talk to you..to tell you how I've felt for you for years. After showing you around school back in Freshman year, I had a crush on you the next day. I kept it a secret for years until not, and only my brother knew about it." he said, "I..hope you're not mad.."

The blonde female didn't look mad at all, "Are you for real?" she asked.

"Yes." He answered.

Astrid paused before talking, "..I..I'm sorry if I keep blanking out...this is the first time I..well not the first time, a lot of boys had confessed to me, but they were different and the first thing I did was reject them."

Hiccup's face looked crestfallen, "I guess I'm going to get rejected too, huh." he said.

Astrid widened her eyes and shook her head, "What? No, no, no. I rejected them because I know how bad they were. I can't stand those guys, seriously, their actual presence annoys me." Astrid laughed. "You're...the first guy to ever tell me your feelings instead of straight up telling me to be your girlfriend because you're good enough and all that."

Hiccup chuckled, "Thanks...I guess?"

Astrid smiled, "So you do like me?" she asked.

"Yeah...but that was before," he said, making her confused, "I'm in love with you, Astrid." he finally said.

Her cheeks burned, "W-wow...I don't know what to say." Astrid said. "I never knew you had an interest in me...I thought you didn't like me at all, since you have other girls that drool over you. I assumed I wasn't good enough to be part of that squad."

Hiccup scoffed at that, "A-are you kidding me?" he asked, "Astrid, you are beautiful. No girl is like you because you're different...you're just...Astrid. You're not like any of the other girls I've seen. You put your education as your top priority, you don't dress to impress, you don't wear makeup to feel pretty, you're intelligent and wise..." he smiled, "You are beautiful, inside and out."

Astrid's cheek were not a velvet color, "You...you think so?" she asked. He said those things to her...and it made her legs feel like jelly. No guy had made her feel like this.

He blushed to, "Of course. And what I said, I mean it." Oh gods, where was all this confidence coming from?

"I could say the same thing to you too." Astrid said. "You're not like the other guys, you express your feelings more than your ego. It's something I find attractive from a guy." Astrid said. Hiccup gave her a teasing look, "Wait..sh*t, did I just say that out loud?"

"Yes, yes you did, m'lady." Hiccup said. Astrid pouted, but inside she was screaming hysterically in excitement. He just called her _m'lady_. Now this is a gentleman.

They stayed quiet for a few seconds to take in their conversation, "H-hey," Hiccup stuttered. He went back to scratching the back of his head, which Astrid now realized a habit he did when he's nervous. "I was wondering..if we can hang out this Friday..at my house? I-if you're busy you don-"

"I'd love to." Astrid said immediately.

"Oh.." Hiccup said, surprised she accepted, "Great!" he said happily. He was overjoyed to tell you the truth. "And well, since you're coming to hang out, do you want to be..partners for the report project for Dragonology class?"

Astrid's smile widened.

"Why would I say no?"

...

"So he ended up volunteering instead?" Astrid laughed.

"Yep." Hiccup nodded, laughing with her. They were talking about the time Hunter accidentally volunteered when encouraging Hiccup to volunteer in Dragonology class.

Friday finally came, and they were both excited to hang out today. Astrid and Hiccup were in the backyard of the Haddock residence, sitting on a blanket over the clean grass. Two laptops were beside them along with a few notebooks and textbooks.

They have been procrastinating in doing their work, instead, they talked and talked. The two asked each other random questions, Hiccup told her about hilarious times with him and Hunter, and discussed about dragons.

"Speaking about dragons," Hiccup said, looking up to the tree providing shade for the two. Leaves fell from above, "Look who's awake." Hiccup chuckled. A small, black blur jumped down, circling around the two, and eventually landing on Hiccup's shoulder. "Afternoon, bud."

A jet black dragon with green eyes the same size of an adult cat licked Hiccup's face, panting with his tongue out like a cat.

Once Astrid saw the dragon, her eyes widened, jaw dropping, "A _Night Fury?!_ You weren't kidding!" Astrid exclaimed, getting excited at the site of the rare dragon.

"Told you." Hiccup said. "Astrid, Toothless. Toothless, Astrid." he introduced. The dragon looked at her curiously, before taking off quickly.

Toothless flew to Astrid, "Awww!" she giggled once the dragon landed on her lap, "He's so adorable and cute!" Astrid squealed. She hugged Toothless, who roared happily. The blonde pet Toothless' head, smiling at the dragon.

Hiccup looked at the two bonding, a smile forming on his face. He could get used to this.

Toothless crawled up her arm before flying back to Hiccup. The dragon ran around his body, tickling the auburn male. "Toothless, stop that!" Hiccup laughed. The dragon didn't listen, but instead kept making him laugh, also causing Astrid to giggle.

Hiccup moved, attempting to get Toothless off him. What was he doing? Hiccup's left hand fell to the blanket, but instead of meeting the fabric, his hand met a soft, small hand instead. He froze all of a sudden, looking down to realize his hand was on top of hers. Toothless stopped doing his thing, realizing his job was done, and flew up to the tree branch to watch them.

Hiccup blushed, still staring at his hand covering hers. "Duh..I..." He wanted to pull his hand away, afraid he might of scared Astrid, but when he looked at her, she had a smile on her face and her cheeks were pink. She showed no sign of being weirded out or being uncomfortable.

The auburn male smiled, keeping his hand where it was as the two look at each other, gazing into each other's eyes.

Meanwhile, Hunter grinned as he looked at the two from the sliding glass doors. His hands were crossed, and he had a proud look on his face. Finally, about time. Hunter was proud of Hiccup finally finding the courage to ask Astrid. His brother finally found the girl he loved.

Hunter looked away once he heard the knocking from the entrance door. He pushed himself from the door frame to answer who was outside. The moment he opened the door, a dragon flew instead quick, "Woah!" he shouted, looking back to see a blue and yellow Deadly Nadder, looking around before dashing to the back yard.

The Deadly Nadder flew fast, looking for her yellow-haired owner. Once she saw her sitting with a brown-haired boy, the dragon roared, launching herself to the boy. "Ah!" Hiccup shouted, falling on his back when the dragon passed him. From above, Toothless laughed.

"Stormfly!" Astrid shouted, the dragon landing on her shoulder. She looked to see Hiccup sitting back up, "Hiccup, I am so sorry...Stormfly's a little overprotective of me...I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's OK." Hiccup chuckled.

"Stormfly, this is Hiccup. He's my new friend so be nice." Astrid said. Stormfly looked at him suspiciously. She flew up and landed on his shoulder. About a second later, Stormfly chirped and rested on his shoulder. Astrid giggled, "She approves."

Hiccup smiled, "Whew...thank Thor." he said in relief.

The auburn male jumped a bit when a warm hand held his. It only took a fraction of a second to realize it was Astrid. He smiled at her, his fingers lacing together with hers.

The project will matter later, right now, they enjoyed each other's company.

Meanwhile, back with Hunter, "Uh..OK?" he turned back to the door.

His blue eyes widened in surprise to see an 18 year old female with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, just an inch shorter than him. "Uh..h-hi.." Hunter stuttered.

"Hey, I'm Allison." she introduced.

"Hunter Haddock.." he said back.

"I'm here to drop off Astrid's bag and her dragon Stormfly." Allison said, "Mind giving this to her?" She asked, giving him a blue bag.

Oh, this must be Astrid's cousin, the one she mentioned before.

"Oh, sure I'll give it to her." Hunter said.

"Thanks." Allison said.

Allison was about to leave until Hunter stopped her, "Hey, Allison, wait a minute," he said. She turned back around, "Do you..do you want to come inside? It's a really hot day and it looked like you walked here," he didn't see any car other than their own, "you want to come in and get a drink?" he offered.

She thought for a second before smirking, "Sure. I'd like that." she said.

Hunter grinned, opening the door for her. Once she was inside, Hunter closed the door.

The Hoffersons were totally part of the Haddock family now.

 ** _The End_**


End file.
